Road Music
Peter Sinclair
The Road Music system operated on a dedicated in-car computer plugged directly into the radio’s auxiliary input.
Information about the trip and driving (acceleration, braking, car positioning on the x, y, and z, axes) were captured by accelerometers. A camera attached to the car windshield captured outdoor visual events, such as scenery changes, periods of sunshine and darkness, and other cars’ headlights.
The music played was never the same. Not only were the melody and rhythm automatically generated at each stop in the journey, but the driving of the vehicle also caused the melody and sound parameters to vary. The tone came from the road surface and the vehicle’s own vibrations. The passing landscape was reinterpreted as sound objects in the stereo soundscape.
It was presented at Avatar’s invitation in Quebec City as part of Mois Multi in 2011.
The Mois Multi is an event produced and organized by the Productions Recto-Verso in February each year. The festival’s program gathers innovative works in the field of multidisciplinary and electronic arts. The Mois Multi is intended as an expression of the conceptual and technological mutations that shake up the unexpected forms and practices of multidisciplinary art. Its uniqueness stems from its interactive shows, installations, immersive environments and works merging artistic languages, materials, techniques, forms and processes of all kinds.
